Welcome to the Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences

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The Institute hosts the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre, which delivers a world-leading research programme through:

Highlighting the importance of musculoskeletal conditions by demonstrating the extent, frequency and impact of pain and disability on individuals, and their increasing health and social care burden and costs on society.

Researching ways of preventing musculoskeletal conditions from starting, getting worse, or limiting people in their daily lives and activity.

Researching the provision of effective assessment, self-management and treatment of these conditions, in the community and in primary care.

Shifting the perception that musculoskeletal conditions are an inevitable consequence of growing old, to take a more positive approach where the symptoms of pain and disability can be addressed more directly.

91% of Keele’s research in Primary Care has been judged world leading or internationally excellent by the Public Health, Health Services Research, and Primary Care assessment panel of the 2014 Universities UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF). On the basis of World Leading or Internationally Excellent research (3* and 4*), Keele is ranked 3rd nationally. The Grade Point Average overall for Keele’s primary care research ranks it as the 6th best Medical School nationally undertaking primary care research, whilst we are ranked 5th in terms of best research publications and in terms of the international impact of our primary care research.

In addition, primary care research formed more than one third of Keele’s submission to the Allied Health Professionals panel, with 90% of Keele’s Allied Health Professional research being rated as World Leading or Internationally Excellent.

In 2009, the Centre was proud to be awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education, for Pioneering early intervention and primary care in the management of chronic pain.

The Centre is one of only eight members of the NIHR School for Primary Care Research.